Muppets: Most wanted. (Review)

(Update at bottom.)

I am a BIG Muppets fan, so you can imagine my reaction when I found out there was going to be a new Muppets movie. We went and saw “the Muppets” two times within the first week it was out. That movie was a perfect reintroduction for a new generation of Muppet fans. Not only was the story and music great but even the trailers were funny. After that box office smash I was not surprised when Disney announced another movie was in the works, the movie to be called “Muppets: Most wanted.”

Nadya (Tina Fey) and Kermit the Frog.

After I saw the first trailer for the new movie I knew it was going to fail. (Come on, Tina Fey as a Russian?!?) Among the many problems with the movie one of my biggest problems was the fact that Constantine (the bad guy (frog?) master mind) was a MUPPET!!! I have NEVER seen a Muppet be the main villain in a Muppet movie. Yes there were those two Muppet henchmen in “the Muppets” but they were not the main antagonist.

At I have said before there are many problems with this movie, here are I few more of my biggest problems. For starters “Muppets: Most wanted” was a direct sequel to “the Muppets”. I don’t mean it happens a few years after the Muppets are back. “Muppets: Most wanted” starts with the “The End” fireworks that happened at the end of “the Muppets”. I have yet to see another Muppet movie that was a direct sequel to another Muppet movie.

Another Big problem for me was the over use of cameos. In the opening seen alone there were two or three “blink cameos” or cameos that come and go so fast they are easy to miss. Now I am not saying that there should have been no cameos just that there were too many. In addition to the over use of cameos there was an under use of classic Muppets. I feel that some Muppets like Ralph were under used and others were left out or made cameo like appearances like Robin, Kermit’s nephew.

Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett in “Muppets: Most wanted”

If you can look past all of that there were some rather big story wholes. For example why are Walter and Animal the only ones that see the difference? How did Constantine not see that the lemur was getting all the credit for his crimes and get suspicious of “Dominic Badguy” (Ricky Gervais)? Where did the babies come from? What was the plan for Miss Piggy? And why did Professor Bunsen Honeydew’s invention have a use? (They never do.)

In closing the only part I liked was Robin’s brief cameo. I most likely will not be seeing another Muppet movie in theaters al least not for a while. I was overjoyed when I saw “the Muppets” and then crushed when I saw “the Muppets: Most wanted.” If you are looking for something to watch with your family don’t pick this. In the end it was just a big over commercialized disappointment that was just riding on the success of its predecessor.

(Also are Miss Piggy and Kermit together? in the least movie they had broken up after they where married and in this one it was like that had never happened.)